By Hiroshi Ikezawa Staff writer Yuichi Tomizawa threw two touchdown passes to wide receiver Teruhiro Ura, and running backs Yasutaka Kojima and Yasuhiro Kabata each scored a touchdown as the Onward Skylarks defeated the Kajima Deers 34-21 to win the Pearl Bowl final at the Tokyo Dome on Friday.
It was the first Pearl Bowl victory for the Skylarks, a team that was formed in January by merging the Onward Oaks and the Skylark Skylarks.The merger took place for financial reasons. The old Onward organization had clinched five Pearl Bowls.
Tomizawa hit Ura with a 36-yard touchdown strike and the two backs scored during a 12-minute span in the first half for a 21-0 lead. Although the Deers countered with Kazuyoshi Suzuki's two scoring passes to Masato Itai in the second quarter to trail 21-14 at the half, two field goals by Masato Fukuda in the third period gave the Skylarks a safe lead. With 6:48 remaining in the final quarter, Ura, the game's MVP, caught a 15-yard scoring pass to put the game away. The Deers scored on a 3-yard reception by Tatsuya Shida with 2:45 to play, but it was too little, too late.